Preview: Vertigo's The Invisible shines light on brave female spies

Imagine a musical about Britain’s MI6 spy agency in which Miss Moneypenny gets top billing and James Bond is a character talked about rather than seen.

That’s essentially what Jonathan Christenson has done in his musical The Invisible: Age of Ungentlemanly Warfare, which has its official world premiere at Vertigo Theatre May 11 to June 9.

Christenson and his Edmonton company Catalyst Theatre collaborated with Vertigo Theatre in 2011 on Nevermore, an homage to Edgar Allan Poe, which became an international hit.

Invisible is Christenson’s tribute to Vera Atkins, a British Intelligence employee whose job during the Second World World was to recruit 50 women from Allied countries to act as agents in cities occupied by Nazi Germany, particularly in France.

The idea for this musical came as Christenson began researching the career of William Stephenson, the Canadian intelligence officer whose book The Man They Called Intrepid detailed his role in spying on the Nazis.

“I thought a show about a Canadian from Winnipeg who became a key player in the war of sabotage, propaganda and espionage during World War Two would have international appeal. After all, he has often been suggested as one of the influences for James Bond,” says Christenson, whose research uncovered the real Vera Atkins, an assistant to the head of Churchill’s Special Operations Executive.

It was Atkin’s job to recruit and train the women sent to France to work behind enemy lines.

“These women were meant to be invisible. If they were captured, they had nowhere to turn. Many of them simply disappeared. After the war, Vera went into France to find out what happened to each of them — those who survived and those who disappeared,” said Christenson.

Christenson says though Invisible is inspired by facts it is basically fiction.

“For Invisible, I wanted to create our own characters and our own story but, if people are excited about what they see on stage, there is so much they can read and learn about the real women as I did.”

For Invisible, Christenson has written 15 songs. During its Vertigo run, the show will use pre-recorded music but Christenson envisions using live musicians at some point.

“I drew on the music of the period, which means there is a lot of swing influence, French folk music and German cabaret, but then I layer those with a lot of contemporary pop and rock.”

Christenson’s longtime collaborator, Laura Krewski, created the choreography and Bretta Gerecke designed the show.

“The men are only talked about because I want this piece to be tightly focused on the women. I want it to be their voices.”

Christenson workshopped the play in Fort McMurray, as he did with other Catalyst shows such as Frankenstein, Nevermore and Hunchback.

“Working up in Fort McMurray is a great way to get the show up on its feet and to solve problems that are bound to arise. We have such incredible support from the local community. They feel a sense of pride because these shows are created on their doorstep. They also feel a sense of ownership.

“For us, it means the show will be in much better shape when it opens in Calgary.”

Invisible: Age of Ungentlemanly Warfare is the final play of Vertigo’s 2018/2019 season. It has previews on May 11, 12, 14 and 15 before it opens officially on May 16. Tickets are available by phone at 403-221-3708 or online at vertigotheatre.com.